Reflections on our Life in Arkansas

On Thursday, Isaac graduated from his Mother's Day Out preschool at Goodwood Church of Christ. There was a nice program put on by the six graduates (& Miss Janet!). The kids sang songs, recited poems, and collected their diplomas. We are very proud of you Isaac!

Miss Janet and all of the ladies at MDO have done a fantastic job with our children. It was obivious at graduation that all the ladies love all the children that they come in contact with. (more…)

Kim and I have been facing a budget wake-up call lately. We are both believers in the Dave Ramsey system (and his inspiration is the Bible and the school of hard knocks!), but sometimes we need to do "triage". It is amazing how the dollars just get away, unless you put a name on each of them (i.e., no dollar goes unbudgeted, or it WILL be spent on something that you probably didn't need). We also benefitted from some of Dave's advice regarding term life insurance. Try Zander if you want to get the best quote from many companies.

Anyhow, this re-focus on the budget has caused Kim and I to stop and count the Lord's blessings to our family. (more…)

The Da Vinci Code phenomenon is sort of irritating and puzzling at the same time. The film comes out tomorrow on the heels of a long best seller run for the hardcover by Dan Browne. As usual, the popular culture accepts it with open arms. Especially since it attacks (under the surface) many things held sacred by Christians. Try to put out a movie that is favorable to Christ (remember The Passion), and all you get from Hollywood is ridicule, hateful statements, and contempt. Don't try to do that to Mohammed; I don't watch South Park, but, in a recent ep, Viacom put the nix on any images — degrading or otherwise — of Mohammed; this ep apparently spared no pain in denigrating Jesus, though. Anyhow, The Da Vinci Code is somehow just "entertainment", while The Passion was "very controversial." (more…)

This was a whirlwind of a weekend! Friday, we had a small gathering for Olivia's 2nd birthday. Everything went well — Olivia especially liked her "DO-WA" (Dora, that is) doll, as well as all the other assorted presents. (One day, I may figure out how to add pictures — but that day is not today!)

Saturday, Kim was off garage-sailing (a common pasttime on Saturday mornings) from around 6:30 to 8:30; most of the time she is gone at 5:45! This is very enjoyable for Kim: she is a great bargain shopper too! Upon her return, we were off to Isaac's first teeball game this year (he played last year too). (more…)

During the week I meet two times with friends (sort of a men's prayer breakfast / fellowship time) at a familiar place … and target of obesity foes: Good ol' McDonald's. Each of the two McDonald's has a different style. The Sherwood Forest / I-12 stop is a classic McDonald's with a PlayPlace. The Siegen Lane / I-10 location sports a somewhat more coffee shop like feel. The important part of each place is the visiting that gets done. And, the coffee is not too bad: they came out with an improved blend recently.

Take a look around because the days of the standard looking McDonald's with the Golden Arches appear to be numbered. (more…)

It all began last Tuesday. Kim started saying, "I think we need to set off a bug bomb." And by Friday night, I was worried sick that we had termites. Now, some friends let me know that termites are not that big of a deal: they can be treated. No, to me, it was the end of the world — would our house be standing past the weekend?!?? Anyhow, I called the pest control company Monday morning. The fellow reassured me that the termites were "swarming" and searching for a water source. Within 72 hours they would be dried up and gone. We have paperwork that says the slab was pretreated. And, we have paperwork that showed at the renewal in February that the "trench and treat" was done. Whatever. The pest company even sent out a 5 month employee on their first "T-complaint". This employee did not even know the difference between an ant and a termite. Two segments or three? Bent antennae or straight? What am I looking for?? At least they had the two-way going with the supervisor (the fellow I spoke to earlier). (more…)

During our first try at TV turnoff week (yes, we did turn it off for a WHOLE week!), one of the neat things that we did was to start reading The Chronicles of Narnia with Isaac and Bailey. Kim had already wanted to begin extending their attention span by reading chapter books, instead of the normal picture / word kid books. She started with a short Berenstein Bears book, and I picked up with Narnia. The momentum of the recent movie made it an easy choice! (more…)

Well, the other day a young man showed up on the doorstep wondering if Isaac could come out and play. Yessin (pronounced Yez-in) had met Isaac once at the neighbors across the street. Three children there have recently become friends with our children. So, Yessin came in and, subsequently, he and Isaac and Bailey all went out to play. Shortly after that, Yessin wanted to know if Isaac could come to his house. We agreed to a short visit. At Yessin's house, I decided to ask him a few questions. He said that his family had a different religion (Islam). (more…)

Although I do not plan on posting much of anything more on this issue, a serendipitous email came my way shortly after my previous post. It was not orchestrated! As I mentioned in the previous blog, I do NOT work in oil production (digging it from the ground) or in gasoline production & marketing; however, I DO work for the chemicals organization of an oil major (translation: I do NOT have any "insider knowledge" whatsoever; I have not even taken a single class on refinery economics, even though my unit is located within the boundaries of one!). The following is an email with interesting facts that complement the previous blog when I posted my blog. My emphases are in bold. Too many facts just get in the way of misconceptions (& distortions!): (more…)